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ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Joseph Lasiri is used to being the underdog his whole life.
Despite beating the odds time and time again, there are still plenty of naysayers who discredit the Italian-Moroccan’s career accomplishments.
Perhaps the biggest insult that Lasiri hears even to this day, is how the best win of his career bore out of ‘pure luck’.
Back in ONE 157 in May last year, not many gave Lasiri a chance when he challenged the iconic Prajanchai PK Saenchai for his strawweight Muay Thai crown.
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‘The Hurricane’ soon shocked the world, as he blasted the Thai destroyer for three action-packed rounds.
Prajanchai sustained significant damage and was unable to leave his stool before the championship rounds, awarding Lasiri with both the TKO victory and 26 pounds of gold.
The resilient Prajanchai bounced back with three straight victories since that fateful encounter.
The 29-year-old was also crowned the interim strawweight Muay Thai king by knocking out Sam-A Gaiyanghadao at ONE Friday Fights 22 last September.
The pair of world-class strikers are set to unify the belts in the co-main event of the stacked ONE Friday Fights 46 on December 22.
Speaking with The South China Morning Post, Lasiri said he plans to prove his doubters wrong and show that his victory over Prajanchai was no fluke:
“Inside the arena, there is no luck. There is no luck there. People can think everything, everyone before was thinking that I was coming into that fight as an underdog, and I showed everyone [what I’m made of].”
Watch Joseph Lasiri vs. Prajanchai 1, here:
Joseph Lasiri wants to spoil Prajanchai’s homecoming by knocking him out inside Lumpinee Stadium
While Joseph Lasiri knows he’ll be entering enemy territory on December 22, facing the darling of the crowd is the least of his concerns.
After all, he plans to silence the entire arena by asserting his mastery over Prajanchai and leaving ‘The Mecca of Muay Thai’ as the undisputed champion. He added:
“I will come again to his home, in his hometown in Bangkok, in Lumpinee Stadium and I will do the job as well.”
ONE Friday Fights 46: Tawanchai vs. Superbon is available to watch for free live as it happens via ONE Championship’s YouTube channel and Facebook, or the ONE Super App.
Here's Lasiri's full SCMP MMA interview:
